A tropical island in the true sense

After twenty minutes on a rickety old boat, with dodgy planks as seats and water in the bottom of the boat, we arrived at Rabbit Island - a real tropical island! How refreshing to go to a place that is relatively untouched, with a few thatched huts and a couple of little bars - this place was heaven!

We managed to secure a couple of day beds -  more like large wooden pallets that had mats placed over them and a couple of hammocks - we were set for a perfect day of relaxing. The coconut trees were gently swaying as the waves lapped against the shore and the 50 cent Angkor beers went down a treat!

One of my fantasies has been to have a massage on a quiet beach underneath a cabana with billowing sheer curtains gently moving in the breeze - today it became a reality! A wonderful full body massage enjoying the peace and tranquility - well I was apart from my fantasy being interrupted by Bella and Sara's giggles as they were having their feet massaged!

Staggering back up the beach feeling all pampered and relaxed it was time for lunch - we were taken up to the end of the pier where the crab pots were pulled up from the ocean and we could choose which crabs we wanted for lunch - this day just could not get any better!

We had the most divine crab imaginable and stuffed ourselves until we could not eat another mouthful, the first time I have ever sat on a tropical island eating lunch with chickens wandering around under the table!

After watching the sun begin to set over the ocean our perfect day was coming to an end and it was time to head back to Kep in our rickety old boat and get ready for dinner - our last chance to eat more crab before we leave in the morning for Phnom Penh!

Kep,Crabs and Rabbit Island

Kep is a beachside location that in years gone by was home to Cambodia's French & Khmer elite, these days it is a sleepy town that is gradually being rebuilt. The main focus for our trip to Kep was to enjoy some quiet time relaxing at the beach and to eat copious amounts of crab! The area is famous for crab, being huge seafood lovers Sara & I were pretty excited - and we managed to eat crab at every meal except breakfast.

We also wanted to spoil Puthsak & Chakrya and give them a little holiday - something that neither of them had ever experienced - the laughter and whoops of delight as we all played in the swimming pool is something I will never forget their excitement was infectious.
They both work incredibly hard with their study and committment to the foundations projects, so it was great to see them relax and let their hair down, and great for us to be able to hang out with them.

Chakrya comes from the province so top of her list while we were there was to take us to visit her family, who live about 20 minutes drive from Kep. We received a very warm welcome from her lovely mum and were invited into the house for afternoon tea.

A typical Khmer timber style one room house built on stilts, it was incredibly hot and I wondered how they could bear the heat when the weather gets really hot - 40 degree plus during the hottest time of the year. There is no electricity in the village and no running water.
Considering that we speak no Khmer and Chakrya's mum speaks no English  we managed to have lively conversation and plenty of laughs with Chakrya acting as interpreter.

We were invited to go to the market place to visit Chakrya's father and the rest of her family, the family have a small shop selling hardware and all sorts of things - not like any shop I have ever seen! More like a shack than a structure with no electricity and incredibly hot, Chakrya's mum took me by the hand and led me to the back of the shop to show me where she sleeps on a wooden pallet - she sleeps here every night to protect the shop - no such thing as burgular alarms in rural Cambodia!

Puthsak relaxing on our balcony

Chakrya, Sara and Puthsak

                                    



Two mums and our beautiful girl!




Meeting the family




Chakrya's family home

 It dawned on me that we were seeing the Cambodia that most travellers wouldn't get to see - welcomed by families and being given a real insight into their daily lives - what an experience!

Siem Reap, The Floating Village and Angkor Wat

We managed to cram a very full day's worth of sightseeing into one day! The trip was hilarious from start to finish with Putset telling us stories on the way to Siem Reap he is a very funny man and a brilliant story teller - our faces ached from laughing so much.

The boys asked us if we liked spiders, we weren't quite sure why they were asking - but found out soon enough! There were screams from the girls when we stopped by the side of the road and several local girls came  running up to the bus holding plates piled high with fried tarantulas that they were selling! A delicay in Cambodia. None of us were game enough to try them but the khmer boys got a real thrill out of dangling fried tarantulas out of their mouths!

We stopped in Siem Reap for lunch before heading off to the floating village,  followed by a quick visit to Angkor Wat - unfortunately we didn't have enough time to really explore Angkor, we will have to do that on another visit.

We spent the evening at the night market in Siem Reap - the best market ever, will definitely allow more time there next trip.

A visit to the dentist

Bella & I had decided that it would be awesome if we could raise some extra money before our trip so that once we got to the village we could donate the funds to things that were needed on the spot. We had just over a $1000 to spend and we couldn't wait to spend it!

It's amazing how far a little bit of money goes in Cambodia.

Top of our list was to use the money for medical services and supplies. Loading nine ladies into the bus we went off for a visit to the dentist - these ladies had all been suffering for some time with their teeth so it was great that we could help out. A couple of hours later we picked them all up again, nine ladies all clutching bags of ice to their faces was a sight to be seen - yet they had the biggest smiles despite all of them having had teeth extracted. Armed with painkillers and antibiotics they were one hapy group of ladies.

Another group of villagers went off in the bus to see the local doctor in Khompong Thom and were treated for various ailments and infections. I never would have imagined that  I would be so happy to spend money on visiting the doctor and the dentist but being able to help out was great!

The other thing that was badly needed was a shelter for our kinder - somewhere that would not only provide shelter from the sun but also a place where we could set up hammocks for the babies to sleep while they were in kinder/day care and a place where we could set up water stations so that the kids have access to fresh water during the day.  Donna, Putset & Socheat got straight onto planning and designing the shelter & getting quotes for the supplies. The shelter is currently being built by the villagers and staff - we can't wait to see how it will turn out.

Our little contribution went such a long way - the old saying "it's far better to give than receive" is so true - being able to help out and know that it is making a difference improving someones quality of life is the best feeling in the world!

Out & About in Soksan Village



Chakrya and Bella at Kimyeng Centre

Kimyeng Health Centre

Sara & I sporting this seasons new fashion in hats!

Soksan Village - look at our awesome fences!

Always ready with a smile the kids love having their photo taken

Stewie with Srey Lien (bella's sponsor child) and friends

Sara and her Cambodian sister Chakrya - Donna in the background with flowers in her hair

We nicknamed this little cutie muscles as he insisted on carrying our large water bottles - can you believe he is 11 years old!

Sara and special little friend

so cute x

Looking at the Plant it Forward gardens

Day Three at Soksan Village

When we arrived at the village the children were all lining up outside our school Saing Sy Centre - taking part in the morning ritual of raising the flag and singing the national anthem.

How awesome to see this group of children lining up in straight lines, standing tall and looking so proud. To think that less than 12 months ago none of these children had attended school and here they were embracing the opportunity to have an education.

Once the flag was hoisted into position, the children sang a couple of songs in Khmer and then to our surprise and delight sang "The lion sleeps tonight"  I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks and glanced across at Sara who had also been reduced to tears - it was so touching to hear these beautiful children sing in perfect english we were so proud of them.